Laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and laser induced thermal imaging method

ABSTRACT

A laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for imaging an imaging layer of a donor film on an acceptor substrate. The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus includes: a substrate stage having an electromagnet, and adapted to receive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of the organic light emitting device and a donor film including the organic light emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillator for irradiating a laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to be located between the substrate stage and the laser oscillator and including an opening portion of a pattern corresponding to a part to be imaged of the donor film and a permanent magnet for forming a magnetic force with the substrate stage; and a contact frame moving mechanism for moving the contact frame toward the substrate stage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/512,991, filed Aug. 28, 2006 which claims the benefit of and priorityto Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0109825 filed on Nov. 16, 2005,and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0105695 filed on Nov. 4, 2005,in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of allof which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a laser induced thermal imagingapparatus and laser induced thermal imaging method, and moreparticularly, to a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and laserinduced thermal imaging method for performing a process of laminating adonor film and an acceptor substrate by using magnetic force.

2. Discussion of Related Art

An organic light emitting device is a device that has a light emittinglayer located between a first electrode and a second electrode. Theorganic light emitting device emits light by combining holes andelectrons at the light emitting layer when a voltage is applied betweenthe electrodes. Hereinafter, the prior art and the present inventionwill be described in reference to the laser induced thermal imagingapparatus used for fabricating an organic light emitting device,however, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The laser induced thermal imaging method irradiates a laser on a donorsubstrate including a base substrate, a light-to-heat conversion layerand a transfer layer (or imaging layer), and converts the laser passingthrough the base substrate into heat in the light-to-heat conversionlayer, so that the light-to-heat conversion layer is deformed andexpanded to deform and expand the neighboring transfer layer. This way,the transfer layer is adhered to the acceptor substrate, such that thetransfer layer can be transferred to the acceptor substrate.

When performing the laser induced thermal imaging method, the inside ofa chamber in which the imaging is done should be in a vacuum state, inorder to comply with a deposition process when forming the lightemitting device. However, when performing the laser induced thermalimaging in the vacuum state according to the prior art, there has been aproblem that the imaging from the imaging layer is not carried out welldue to a foreign substance (or impurities) or a space (void or gap)generated between the donor substrate and the acceptor substrate.Therefore, in the laser induced thermal imaging method, a method forlaminating the donor substrate and the acceptor substrate is important,and various schemes for solving the problem with the space or impuritieshave been contemplated.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross sectional view of a laser induced thermalimaging apparatus according to the prior art for overcoming the aboveproblems. According to FIG. 1, a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus10 includes a substrate stage 12 positioned inside a chamber 11 and alaser oscillator 13 positioned at an upper part of the chamber 11.

The substrate stage 12 is a stage for placing an acceptor substrate 14and a donor film 15, which are introduced into the chamber 11.

In this case, in order to laminate an acceptor substrate 14 and thedonor film 15 without generating the foreign substance or the spacebetween the acceptor substrate 14 and the donor film 15, the inside ofthe chamber 11 in which the laser induced thermal imaging is performed,is not to be maintained in the vacuum state but to be sucked by a vacuumpump P by connecting a hose 16 to the lower part of the substrate stage12, adhering the acceptor substrate 14 and the donor film 15. However,in such a prior art, since the generation of the foreign substance 1 andthe void between the acceptor substrate 14 and the donor film 15 cannotbe completely prevented and furthermore, the vacuum state inside thechamber 11 cannot be maintained, it has been known to have an adverseeffect on reliability and duration of a product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a laser inducedthermal imaging apparatus and a laser induced thermal imaging method,for laminating an acceptor substrate and a donor film in a vacuumcondition by using a magnetic force.

In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, there isprovided a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forming a lightemitting layer of an organic light emitting device. The apparatusincludes: a substrate stage including an electromagnet, and adapted toreceive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of the organic lightemitting device and a donor film including the organic light emittinglayer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillator for irradiatinga laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to be placed betweenthe substrate stage and the laser oscillator and including an openingportion of a pattern corresponding to a part to be imaged of the donorfilm and a permanent magnet for forming a magnetic force with thesubstrate stage; and a contact frame moving mechanism for moving thecontact frame toward the substrate stage.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forminga light emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. Theapparatus includes: a substrate stage including a permanent magnet, andadapted to receive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of theorganic light emitting device and a donor film including the organiclight emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillatorfor irradiating a laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to beplaced between the substrate stage and the laser oscillator andincluding an opening portion of a pattern corresponding to a part to beimaged of the donor film and a permanent magnet for forming a magneticforce with the substrate stage; and a contact frame moving mechanism formoving the contact frame toward the substrate stage.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forminga light emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. Theapparatus includes: a substrate stage including a permanent magnet, andadapted to receive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of theorganic light emitting device and a donor film including the organiclight emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillatorfor irradiating a laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to beplaced between the substrate stage and the laser oscillator andincluding an opening portion of a pattern corresponding to a part to beimaged of the donor film and an electromagnet for forming a magneticforce with the substrate stage; and a contact frame moving mechanism formoving the contact frame toward the substrate stage.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forminga light emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. Theapparatus includes: a substrate stage including a magnet, and adapted toreceive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of the organic lightemitting device and a donor film including the organic light emittinglayer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillator for irradiatinga laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to be placed betweenthe substrate stage and the laser oscillator and including at least onetransmitting portion of transparent material for a laser to passthrough, and a magnet for forming a magnetic force with the substratestage; and a contact frame moving mechanism for moving the contact frametoward the substrate stage.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forminga light emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. Theapparatus includes: a substrate stage including magnetic substance, andadapted to receive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of theorganic light emitting device and a donor film including the organiclight emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillatorfor irradiating a laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to beplaced between the substrate stage and the laser oscillator andincluding at least one transmitting portion of transparent material forallowing a laser to pass through, and a magnet for forming a magneticforce with the substrate stage; and a contact frame moving mechanism formoving the contact frame toward the substrate stage.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forminga light emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. Theapparatus includes: a substrate stage including a magnet, and adapted toreceive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of the organic lightemitting device and a donor film including the organic light emittinglayer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laser oscillator for irradiatinga laser on the donor film; a contact frame adapted to be placed betweenthe substrate stage and the laser oscillator and including at least onetransmitting portion of transparent material for allowing a laser topass through, and magnetic substance for forming a magnetic force withthe substrate stage; and a contact frame moving mechanism for moving thecontact frame toward the substrate stage.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging method for forming alight emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. The methodincludes: placing an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of theorganic light emitting device and a donor film including the organiclight emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area between a contactframe including an electromagnet and a substrate stage including apermanent magnet; adhering the acceptor substrate and the donor filmusing a magnetic force formed between the contact frame and thesubstrate stage; and imaging the organic light emitting layer of thedonor film on the acceptor substrate by irradiating a laser on the donorfilm corresponding to the organic light emitting layer.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging method for forming alight emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. The methodincludes: placing an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of theorganic light emitting device and a donor film including the organiclight emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area between a contactframe including a permanent magnet and a substrate stage including apermanent magnet; adhering the acceptor substrate and the donor filmusing a magnetic force formed between the contact frame and thesubstrate stage; and imaging the organic light emitting layer of thedonor film on the acceptor substrate by irradiating a laser on the donorfilm corresponding to the organic light emitting layer.

In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention,there is provided a laser induced thermal imaging method for forming alight emitting layer of an organic light emitting device. The methodincludes: placing an acceptor substrate having a pixel area of theorganic light emitting device and a donor film including the organiclight emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area between a contactframe including a permanent magnet and a substrate stage including anelectromagnet; adhering the acceptor substrate and the donor film usinga magnetic force formed between the contact frame and the substratestage; and imaging the organic light emitting layer of the donor film onthe acceptor substrate by irradiating a laser on the donor filmcorresponding to the organic light emitting layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and features of the invention will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofexemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a partial cross sectional view showing a laser induced thermalimaging apparatus according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a laser induced thermalimaging apparatus according to a first embodiment to a sixth embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a construction view showing an embodiment of a laseroscillator of a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus used in thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a contact frame of a laserinduced thermal imaging apparatus taken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a contact frame moving mechanism ofa laser induced thermal imaging apparatus according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a laser induced thermal imaging methodaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention willbe described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a laser induced thermalimaging apparatus according to a first embodiment to a sixth embodimentof the present invention. According thereto, a laser induced thermalimaging apparatus 100 includes a substrate stage 110, a laser oscillator120, a contact frame 130, a contact frame moving mechanism 140 and achamber 150.

First Embodiment

The first embodiment according to the present invention represents acontact process (or adhering process) of a donor film 200 and anacceptor substrate 300 using a substrate stage 110 that includes anelectromagnet and a contact frame 130 having a predetermined pattern ofopening portions and permanent magnets. The opening portions on thecontact frame 130 may be openings or may be transmitting portionscovered with transparent material such as glass or transparent polymer.The substrate stage 110 includes one or more magnets 111, which may bepermanent magnets, electromagnets, magnetic substance, or any othersuitable material having magnetic properties.

The chamber 150 may be a chamber used in the conventional laser inducedthermal imaging apparatus and the inside of the chamber 150 is mountedwith at least the substrate stage 110 and adapted to receive the contactframe 130, etc. Inside the chamber 150, the donor film 200 and theacceptor substrate 300 can be transferred or placed, and for this, atransferring mechanism (not shown) for transferring the donor film 200and the acceptor substrate 300 to the inside of the chamber 150 isprovided outside the chamber 150. From the viewpoint of a manufacturingprocess, the inside of the chamber 150 should be maintained in a vacuumstate, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The substrate stage 110 is positioned at or near a bottom side of thechamber 150, and in the first embodiment, the substrate stage 110 isprovided with at least one electromagnet (not shown in FIG. 2). In thedescribed embodiment, an electromagnet is provided inside the substratestage 110. Here, the electromagnet may be arranged in one plane.However, in cases where a number of electromagnets are used, theelectromagnets may be formed in a concentric circular pattern or asmultiple columns of length and width.

The substrate stage 110 may further include a driving mechanism (notshown) for moving the substrate stage. When the substrate stage 110 ismoved, the laser oscillator 120 can be configured to irradiate a laserin only one direction. For example, when the laser is irradiated in alongitudinal direction and the substrate stage 110 further includes adriving mechanism for moving it in a transverse direction, the laser canbe irradiated on an entire area of the donor film 200.

Also, the substrate stage 110 can include a mounting mechanism forreceiving and mounting the acceptor substrate 300 and the donor film200. The mounting mechanism allows the acceptor substrate 300 and thedonor film 200, transferred to the inside of the chamber 150 using thetransferring mechanism, to be mounted precisely at a desired position(e.g., a predetermined position).

In the present embodiment, the mounting mechanism can be configured tohave through-holes 410, 510, guide bars 420, 520, moving plates 430,530, supporters 440, 540, and mounting grooves 450, 550. Here, the guidebars 420, which provide a rising motion or a falling motion along withthe moving plate 430 and the supporter 440, is in the structure that theguide bars 420 receive the acceptor substrate 300 while passing andrising through the through-holes 410, and allow the acceptor substrate300 to safely arrive on the mounting groove 450 formed on the substratestage 110 while passing and falling through the through-holes 410. Thevarious modifications of the mounting mechanism can be implemented by aperson having ordinary skill in the art and the detailed explanationthereof will thus be omitted.

The laser oscillator 120 can be installed outside or inside the chamber150. In the described embodiment, the laser oscillator 120 is installedinside the chamber so that the laser can be irradiated from the upperpart of the chamber 150. According to FIG. 3, which is a schematicconstruction view of the laser oscillator 120, in the presentembodiment, the laser oscillator 120 uses CW ND:YAG laser (1604 mm) andincludes two galvanometer scanners 121, 123, a scan lens 125 and acylinder lens 127, but is not limited thereto.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the contact frame 130 ofFIG. 2, taken along the line A-A′. The contact frame 130 includes one ormore permanent magnets to form magnetic force with the electromagnet ofthe substrate stage, resulting in strongly laminating (or adhering toeach other) the donor film 200 and the acceptor substrate 300 positionedbetween the substrate stage 110 and the contact frame 130. Here, thecontact frame 130 itself may be formed as a permanent magnet, or one ormore permanent magnets may be formed on an upper side or a lower side ofthe contact frame 130. In the described embodiment, the permanent magnetconsists of permanent magnet nano particles. The contact frame 130 alsoincludes opening portions (or openings) 133, which may be transmittingportions covered by transparent material (e.g., glass or transparentpolymer) in other embodiments.

The contact frame 130 includes one or more opening portions throughwhich a laser beam can pass. That is, the desired area of the donor film200 can be imaged on (or transferred to) the acceptor substrate 300using the opening portions of the pattern corresponding to the part ofthe donor film 200 to be imaged. Therefore, the contact frame 130 mayconcurrently perform a mask role for irradiating the laser only at oneor more desired positions or locations (e.g., predetermined positions).

The contact frames 130 that can be exchanged or replaced with each otherand operated, are formed with at least one opening portion correspondingto which each sub-pixel of the organic light emitting device is formedusing the organic light emitting layer to be imaged.

The contact frame moving mechanism 140, which is a mechanism for movingthe contact frame 130 toward the substrate stage, can be variouslymanufactured, however, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, itincludes a cradle 141 including a cradling groove 142, connecting bars143 connected to the cradle 141 on the upper side of the chamber 150 anda driving mechanism (not shown) for driving the connecting bars 143 andthe cradle 141 connected thereto up and down. The contact frame 130 ismounted and moved on a tray 135 including a cradling projection 134 tomove, when being moved by the moving mechanism as shown in FIG. 5. Thecontact frame 130 includes one or more magnets 137, which may beelectromagnets, permanent magnets or magnetic substance.

An exchange mechanism such as a robot arm, etc., can be used to exchangethe first contact frame and the second contact frame. For example, afterforming a first sub-pixel and a second sub-pixel with a first contactframe placed on the cradle, the robot arm may transfer the first contactframe from the cradle to the outside and may position a second contactframe on the cradle so that they can be exchanged with each other.

Next, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, a method for forming the organiclight emitting device using the foregoing laser induced thermal imagingapparatus will be described. In forming the organic light emittingdevice, the method for using the foregoing laser induced thermal imagingapparatus includes the steps of: transferring (or placing) the acceptorsubstrate ST100, transferring (or placing) the donor film ST200,contacting (or adhering) the contact frame ST300, imaging (ortransferring) an organic layer corresponding to the sub-pixel ST400, andseparating the contact frame ST500.

The step of transferring the acceptor substrate ST100 positions orplaces the acceptor substrate 300, on which the organic light emittinglayer is to be formed, on the substrate stage 110 including a magnet ormagnetic substance. The pixel area, on which the light emitting layer tobe imaged from the donor film is to be formed, is defined on theacceptor substrate 300.

The step of transferring the donor film ST200 transfers or places thedonor film including the light emitting layer to be imaged on (ortransferred to) the acceptor substrate 300. At this time, the lightemitting layer can be configured to have any one suitable color, forexample, R.

The step of contacting (or adhering) the contact frame ST300 moves thecontact frame toward the substrate stage by magnetic attractive force,wherein the contact frame includes the opening portions through whichthe laser to image the organic light emitting layer of the donor filmpasses, and the permanent magnet. Thereby, the donor film and theacceptor substrate positioned therebetween are laminated or closelycontacted or adhered to each other. In the described embodiment, thecontact frame primarily moves and contacts toward and/or with theacceptor substrate using the contact frame moving mechanism, andsecondarily contacts with (or adheres to) it more strongly usingmagnetic attractive force.

The step of imaging the sub-pixel ST400 expands the organic lightemitting layer provided in the donor film by irradiating the laser onthe donor film through the opening portions of the contact frame andimages (or transfers) it to the pixel area of the acceptor substrate. Atthis time, the irradiating range of the laser is controlled so that thelaser can be irradiated only on the pixel area corresponding to theopening portions.

The step of separating the contact frame ST500 separates the contactframe from the acceptor substrate by using the contact frame movingmechanism, wherein in the described embodiment, they are primarilyseparated by magnetic repulsive force and the contact frame secondarilyrises to the upper part of the chamber by the contact frame movingmechanism.

Although the present invention has been mainly explained in reference tothe first embodiment, various modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Forexample, the changes in the constitution of the contact frame movingmechanism, the shape of the transmitting portions, the shape of theopening portions, the shape of the magnet to be included (use ofmagnetic nano particles, etc.), etc., can be derived by a person havingordinary skill in the art based on the disclosure in this application.Hereinafter, second through sixth embodiments will describe theconstruction identical with that of the first embodiment with referenceto FIG. 2, however, represents the range to which the substrate stageand the contact frame are differently applicable, respectively.Therefore, since the description of the first embodiment can be appliedto the descriptions about the remaining components and process methodsother than the substrate stage and the contact frame, the descriptionsthereof will be omitted.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment according to the present invention represents acontacting (or adhering) process of a donor film 200 and an acceptorsubstrate 300 using a substrate stage including one or more permanentmagnets and a contact frame including a pattern (e.g., a predeterminedpattern) of opening portions and one or more permanent magnets.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the substrate stage 110 is positioned at ornear a bottom side of the chamber 150, and in the second embodiment, thesubstrate stage 110 is provided with at least one permanent magnet. Inthe described embodiment, a permanent magnet is provided inside thesubstrate stage 110.

The contact frame 130 includes one or more permanent magnets to formmagnetic force with the one or more electromagnets of the substratestage, resulting in strongly laminating the donor film 200 and theacceptor substrate 300 positioned between the substrate stage 110 andthe contact frame 130. In the described embodiment, the contact frame130 itself may be formed as a permanent magnet, or the permanent magnetsmay be formed on the upper side or the lower side of the contact frame130. In the described embodiment, the permanent magnet consists of (orincludes) permanent magnet nano particles.

The contact frame 130 includes opening portions (or transmittingportions) 133 (shown in FIG. 5) through which the laser is able to pass.That is, the desired area of the donor film 200 can be imaged on (ortransferred to) the acceptor substrate 300 through the opening portionsof the pattern corresponding to the part of the donor film 200 to beimaged (or transferred). Therefore, the contact frame 130 mayconcurrently perform a mask role for irradiating the laser only at adesired position (e.g., a predetermined position).

The contact frames 130 that can be exchanged or replaced with eachother, are formed with at least one opening portion corresponding towhich each sub-pixel of the organic light emitting device is formedusing the organic light emitting layer to be imaged (or transferred).

Third Embodiment

The third embodiment according to the present invention represents acontacting process of a donor film 200 and an acceptor substrate 300using a substrate stage including one or more permanent magnets and acontact frame including a predetermined pattern of opening portions andone or more electromagnets.

The substrate stage 110 is positioned at or near a bottom side of achamber 150, and in the third embodiment, the substrate stage 110 isprovided with at least one permanent magnet. In the describedembodiment, a permanent magnet is provided inside the substrate stage110. In the described embodiment, the permanent magnet may consist of(or include) permanent magnet nano particles.

In the described embodiment, the contact frame 130 includes one or moreelectromagnets to form a magnetic force with one or more permanentmagnets of the substrate stage 110, resulting in strongly laminating thedonor film 200 and the acceptor substrate 300 positioned between thesubstrate stage 110 and the contact frame 130. Here, the electromagnetsmay be arranged in one plane, however in case where a number ofelectromagnets are used; the electromagnets may be formed in aconcentric circular or as multiple columns of length and width.

The contact frame 130 includes opening portions 133 through which thelaser is able to pass. That is, the desired area of the donor film 200can be imaged on (or transferred to) the acceptor substrate 300 throughthe opening portions of the pattern corresponding to the part of thedonor film 200 to be imaged. Therefore, the contact frame 130 mayconcurrently perform a mask role for irradiating the laser only ondesired positions (e.g., predetermined positions).

The contact frames 130 that can be exchanged or replaced with eachother, are formed with at least one opening portion corresponding towhich each sub-pixel of the organic light emitting device is formedusing the organic light emitting layer to be imaged.

Fourth Embodiment

The fourth embodiment according to the present invention represents acontacting process of a donor film 200 and an acceptor substrate 300using a substrate stage including one or more magnets and a contactframe including transmitting portions made of transparent material andone or more magnets.

The substrate stage 110 is positioned at or near a bottom side of achamber 150, and in the fourth embodiment, the substrate stage 110 isprovided with at least one magnet. In the described embodiment, one ormore magnets are provided inside the substrate stage 110.

The contact frame 130 includes one or more magnets to form a magneticforce with the one or more magnets of the substrate stage 110, resultingin strongly laminating (or closely adhering to each other) the donorfilm 200 and the acceptor substrate 300 positioned between the substratestage 110 and the contact frame 130. Here, the substrate stage 110 andthe contact frame 130 may be formed as (or include) an electromagnet anda permanent magnet, respectively; the substrate stage 110 and thecontact frame 130 may be formed as (or include) a permanent magnet andan electromagnet, respectively; and both the substrate stage 110 and thecontact frame 130 may be formed as (or include) the electromagnet or thepermanent magnet. In the described embodiment, the permanent magnetconsists of (or includes) permanent magnet nano particles.

The contact frame 130 includes transmitting portions 133 capable ofallowing the laser to pass through. FIG. 4 is a schematiccross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 2 showing theconstruction of the transmitting portions 133. Due to the transmittingportions 133, the contact frame 130 may concurrently perform a mask rolefor irradiating the laser only on desired positions (e.g., predeterminedpositions). There is no restriction on the transparent materials of thetransmitting portions 133. In the described embodiment, glass ortransparent polymer is used as the material for the transmittingportions. Also, since the transmitting portions 133 cannot be magneticin the described embodiment, the transmitting portions 133 are to bemaintained at a proper level such that the magnetic force of the contactframe 130 laminates the donor film and the acceptor substrate together.Therefore, in the described embodiment, the total area of thetransmitting portions 133 is restricted to 1% to 50% of the entire areaof the contact frame 130.

The contact frames 130 that can be exchanged or replaced with eachother, are formed with at least one opening portion (transmittingportion) in which each sub-pixel of the organic light emitting device isformed using the organic light emitting layer to be imaged.

Fifth Embodiment

The fifth embodiment according to the present invention represents acontacting process of a donor film 200 and an acceptor substrate 300using a substrate stage 110 including magnetic substance and a contactframe 130 including transmitting portions 133 of transparent materialand at least one magnet.

The substrate stage 110 is positioned at or near a bottom side of achamber 150, and in the fifth embodiment, the substrate stage 110 isprovided with at least one magnetic substance. In the describedembodiment, the magnetic substance may be a ferromagnetic substance or aweakly magnetic substance, and may include one selected from the groupconsisting of Fe, Ni, Cr, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, CoFe₂O₄ and a combinationthereof.

The contact frame 130 includes a magnet to form magnetic force with themagnetic substance of the substrate stage 110, resulting in stronglylaminating (or adhering closely together) the donor film 200 and theacceptor substrate 300 positioned between the substrate stage 110 andthe contact frame 130. Here, the substrate stage 110 and the contactframe 130 can be formed as magnetic substance and a permanent magnet,respectively; and the substrate stage 110 and the contact frame 130 canbe formed as the magnetic substance and an electromagnet, respectively.

The contact frame 130 includes transmitting portions 133 capable ofallowing the laser to pass through. FIG. 4 is a schematiccross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 2 showing theconstruction of the transmitting portions 133. Due to the transmittingportions 133, the contact frame 130 may concurrently perform a mask rolefor irradiating the laser only on desired positions (e.g., predeterminedpositions) of the donor film 200. There is no restriction on thetransparent materials of the transmitting portion 133. In the exemplaryembodiment, glass or polymer may be used as the transparent material.Also, since the transmitting portions 133 typically are not magnetic, anarea occupied by the transmitting portion 133 should be maintained at aproper level such that sufficient magnetic force of the contact frame130 that laminates the donor film and the acceptor substrate isprovided. By way of example, the area of the transmitting portions 133is limited to 1% to 50% of the entire area of the contact frame 130 inone embodiment.

The contact frames 130 that can be exchanged or replaced with eachother, are formed with at least one opening portion (i.e., transmittingportion) through which each sub-pixel of the organic light emittingdevice is formed using the organic light emitting layer to be imaged.

Sixth Embodiment

The sixth embodiment according to the present invention represents acontacting (or adhering) process of a donor film 200 and an acceptorsubstrate 300 using a substrate stage 110 including one or more magnetsand a contact frame 130 including a transmitting portion 133 oftransparent material and magnetic substance.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the substrate stage 110 is positioned at ornear a bottom side of the chamber 150, and in the sixth embodiment, thesubstrate stage 110 is provided with at least one magnet. In thedescribed embodiment, the magnet may be electromagnets or permanentmagnets, and when the magnet is a permanent magnet, it may consist ofpermanent magnet nano particles.

The contact frame 130 includes magnetic substance to form a magneticforce with the magnet of the substrate stage 110, thereby resulting instrongly laminating (or adhering close to each other) the donor film 200and the acceptor substrate 300 positioned between the substrate stage110 and the contact frame 130. The magnetic substance may include aferromagnetic substance or a weakly magnetic substance, and may includeone selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Cr, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄,CoFe₂O₄ and a combination thereof. The substrate stage 110 and thecontact frame 130 may be formed as (or include) one or more permanentmagnets and magnetic substance, respectively; or the substrate stage 110and the contact frame 130 may be formed as (or include) one or moreelectromagnets and magnetic substance, respectively.

The contact frame 130 includes transmitting portions 133 capable ofallowing the laser to pass through. FIG. 4 is a schematiccross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ in FIG. 2 showing theconstruction of the transmitting portions 133. Due to the transmittingportions 133, the contact frame 130 may concurrently perform a mask rolefor irradiating the laser only on desired positions (e.g., predeterminedpositions). There is no restriction on the transparent materials of thetransmitting portions 133. In one embodiment, glass or polymer may beused as the transparent material. Also, since the transmitting portions133 typically are not magnetic, the total area of the transmittingportions 133 should be maintained at a proper level such that sufficientmagnetic force of the contact frame 130 is provided to laminate thedonor film and the acceptor substrate. This is achieved, for example, byrestricting the total area of the transmitting portions 133 to 1% to 50%of the entire area of the contact frame 130.

The contact frames 130 that can be exchanged or replaced with eachother, are formed with at least one opening portion (i.e., transmittingportion) in which each sub-pixel of the organic light emitting device isformed using the organic light emitting layer to be imaged.

The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and laser induced thermalimaging method according to the present invention, is suitable forlaminating the donor substrate and the acceptor substrate by usingmagnetic force under vacuum, thereby, being able to equally maintain thevacuum state as in the prior process of the organic light emittingdevice as well as can laminate the donor substrate and the acceptorsubstrate without generating a foreign substance or an empty void (orspace) therebetween, thereby, making the imaging of the light emittinglayer of the organic light emitting device more efficiently.

Although certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention havebeen shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that changes might be made in this embodiment without departingfrom the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which isdefined in the accompanying claims and their equivalents.

1. A laser induced thermal imaging apparatus for forming a lightemitting layer of an organic light emitting device, the apparatuscomprising: a substrate stage comprising a magnet, the substrate stagebeing adapted to receive an acceptor substrate having a pixel area ofthe organic light emitting device and a donor film comprising theorganic light emitting layer to be imaged on the pixel area; a laseroscillator for irradiating a laser on the donor film; a contact frameadapted to be placed between the substrate stage and the laseroscillator and comprising at least one transmitting portion oftransparent material for allowing a laser to pass through, and a magnetfor forming magnetic force with the substrate stage; and a contact framemoving mechanism for moving the contact frame toward the substratestage.
 2. The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus according to claim1, further comprising a vacuum chamber having the substrate stagelocated therein, and adapted to receive the contact frame.
 3. The laserinduced thermal imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein anentire area of the at least one transmitting portion of the contactframe is 1% to 50% of an area of the contact frame.
 4. The laser inducedthermal imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transparentmaterial comprises a glass or a transparent polymer.
 5. The laserinduced thermal imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein themagnet of the contact frame comprises an electromagnet or a permanentmagnet.
 6. The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein the magnet of the contact frame comprises anelectromagnet.
 7. The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the magnet of the substrate stage is anelectromagnet or a permanent magnet.
 8. The laser induced thermalimaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnet of the substrate stagecomprises magnetic substance.
 9. The laser induced thermal imagingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the magnetic substance is oneselected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Cr, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, CoFe2O4and a combination thereof.
 10. The laser induced thermal imagingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the magnet of the contact framecomprises magnetic substance.
 11. The laser induced thermal imagingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the magnetic substance is oneselected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Cr, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, CoFe2O4and a combination thereof.
 12. The laser induced thermal imagingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate stage and thecontact frame are configured to adhere the donor film and the acceptorsubstrate to each other utilizing the magnetic force formed between themagnet of the substrate stage and the magnet of the contact frame. 13.The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the magnet of the contact frame comprises a plurality ofpermanent magnets or electromagnets spaced apart from each other. 14.The laser induced thermal imaging apparatus according to claim 13,wherein the magnet of the contact frame comprises a plurality ofelectromagnets spaced apart from each other.
 15. A laser induced thermalimaging method for forming a light emitting layer of an organic lightemitting device, the method comprising: placing an acceptor substratehaving a pixel area of the organic light emitting device and a donorfilm comprising the organic light emitting layer to be imaged on thepixel area, between a contact frame comprising a magnet and a substratestage comprising a magnet; adhering the acceptor substrate and the donorfilm to each other using a magnetic force formed between the magnet ofthe contact frame and the magnet of the substrate stage; and imaging theorganic light emitting layer of the donor film on the acceptor substrateby irradiating a laser on the donor film corresponding to the organiclight emitting layer.
 16. The laser induced thermal imaging methodaccording to claim 15, wherein the magnet of the contact frame comprisesan electromagnet and the magnet of the substrate stage comprises apermanent magnet.
 17. The laser induced thermal imaging method accordingto claim 15, wherein the magnet of the contact frame comprises apermanent magnet and the magnet of the substrate stage comprises apermanent magnet.
 18. The laser induced thermal imaging method accordingto claim 15, wherein the magnet of the contact frame comprises apermanent magnet and the magnet of the substrate stage comprises anelectromagnet.
 19. The laser induced thermal imaging method according toclaim 15, wherein at least one of the magnets comprises magneticsubstance.